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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25281661">Tabula Rasa</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raindropsonwhiskers/pseuds/Raindropsonwhiskers'>Raindropsonwhiskers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Should I Stay-verse [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Season/Series 11, Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, technically the new years special but thats part of s11 right</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:26:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,074</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25281661</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raindropsonwhiskers/pseuds/Raindropsonwhiskers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Still recovering from their brush with an alternate universe, the Doctor and the Master discover one of their worst enemies - <strike>communication!</strike> a Dalek buried in Earth's history, let loose on the world</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kira Arlo/Yasmin Khan, The Doctor | Theta Sigma/The Master | Koschei (Doctor Who: Academy Era), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Should I Stay-verse [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>99</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>120</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It's been a week since Should I Stay ended and even though I told myself I wouldn't start posting this until it was all finished... I lied. So here's the first chapter!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Time Lords don’t celebrate the new year. When time is a long, winding tapestry spread out before you, arbitrary delineations of the threads lose their appeal. That isn’t to say that Gallifrey as a whole doesn’t do so - the shobogans most certainly enjoy the excuse to let loose - but, for the Time Lords, it’s considered crass and uncouth to participate in the revelry and drinking that usually rings in the passage of time.</p><p>So, naturally, both the Doctor and the Master had done it quite frequently during their days at the Academy. Now, as the Doctor carefully pilots the TARDIS to the cosmic fireworks display of the Gethralia galaxy, the biggest New Year’s Eve celebration in the universe at that time, she can’t help but remember those warm nights spent dancing and laughing. Sneaking out every year to get drunk on ginger beer and rebellion, and usually regretting it the next morning when they had class. </p><p>The humans are crowded into the doorway of the ship to watch as the colors burst across the backdrop of stardust and planetary fragments, but both Time Lords hang back in the console room. Normally, at least the Doctor would be pressing herself between her companions to get a glimpse of the feat of chemical engineering, but she chooses not to. It’s been nearly a month since the incident involving the Mondasian colony ship - or rather, the <em> second </em> incident - and she hasn’t so much as mentioned it to her companions. She’s tried to hide how much the encounter with the other Doctor disquieted her, but she knows they’ve noticed that something is off, and her avoidance of the topic has created a bit of a gap between them.</p><p>Then the last blast goes off, bathing the console room in brilliant orange light, and the Doctor shakes off the unease. Her humans are enjoying the show, and what happened is none of their business, and everything is fine. The Master quirks an eyebrow at her, but doesn’t say anything.</p><p>“Hey, Doc, I’ve gotta hand it to you.” Graham turns away from the open doors. “That was the best fireworks display I’ve ever seen.”</p><p>The Doctor smiles. “Didn’t I say? Nineteen New Year’s Eves in a row, which was your favorite?”</p><p>“New New York, watching that parade,” Grace says.</p><p>“I did love Mesopotamia,” Graham offers.</p><p>“Sydney, 2000, watching the fireworks on top of the Harbour Bridge,” Ryan says. He points at Graham. “Until you nearly fell off.”</p><p>Yaz grins. “1801, discovering that dwarf planet with your Italian mate.”</p><p>“Lovely Giuseppe Piazzi,” the Doctor agrees, moving around the console. That had been a fun one, though the Master had made a nuisance of himself about Ceres <em> technically </em> being an asteroid.</p><p>She stops and turns back to her companions, still smiling. “Should we do one more? Make it a round twenty? I’m thinking… Quantifer.” Putting the coordinates in, she continues, “Little settlement on the edge of the known universe where it’s permanently New Year’s Eve. Every day! They’ve got the best balloons.”</p><p>Her hand is already on the dematerialization lever when an alarm starts bleeping. The Doctor leans down to glance at the monitor. The Master joins her, his shoulder brushing hers as he takes a look.</p><p>“Is that important?” Yaz asks.</p><p>“No, not really,” the Doctor mutters. “‘S just Earth. I leave a little alarm on, as it’s your home. Just in case.”</p><p>“A non-terrestrial entity attempting a spatial shift isn’t important?” the Master says, sarcastic. “That’s a first.”</p><p>The Doctor looks at the monitor again and grimaces when she sees that he’s right. “Oh, that is bad. That’s worse than bad. I’m homing in on the convergence pattern now.”</p><p>“Anywhere exciting?” Graham wonders.</p><p>She looks up as she yanks the dematerialization lever down. “Sheffield.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The first thing the Doctor sees when she steps out of the TARDIS is a rather startled looking human. Or, at least, he looks human, but that’s not a good indicator. She reaches for her sonic, just to make sure.</p><p>“What’s your name?” she asks, scanning him. Sure enough, he’s a normal human.</p><p>“Mitch,” the man stutters. “You- you just appeared out of thin air, h- how did you do that?”</p><p>“I’m the Doctor,” she says, skipping over the question. Her companions follow her out of the TARDIS. “These are my best friends, Grace, Graham, Ryan, and Yaz, and my partner, the Master.”</p><p>“Right, okay,” Mitch says, still sounding a little blindsided. </p><p>“<em>Partner, dear?</em>” the Master thinks, an emotion she can’t quite name lacing the question.</p><p>The Doctor sends back an impression of a shrug. “<em>Why, do you not like it?</em>”</p><p>“<em>No, just wasn’t expecting it.</em>”</p><p>Graham glances around. “Spend a lot of time in sewers, do you, Mitch?”</p><p>The Doctor takes in her surroundings and sees that Graham’s right. There’s an inch or two of murky water coating the floor, and all the walls are plain, no-nonsense stonework meant more for function than aesthetic. Bright LED lights are set up near tables, illuminating the tunnels and casting shaky reflections onto the water. A depression of some sort is dug into the bare floor, lined by little yellow flags.</p><p>“Uh, we’re excavating an ancient burial site,” Mitch explains, pointing to the area marked by the flags.</p><p>“When you say ‘we’...” Yaz begins.</p><p>“Er, Lynne’s through here,” Mitch says, looking deeper into the sewers. He raises his voice, sounding panicked. “Lynne? Where are you?”</p><p>After a second, a torch beam cuts through the shadows, followed by a human woman. She looks nervous, her eyes wide but her posture stiff.</p><p>“Hey, there you are! These guys just sort of… arrived.” Mitch gestures at the Doctor.</p><p>“Hi. Seen anything unusual, Lynne?” the Doctor asks, stepping closer.</p><p>Lynne nods slightly. “Yeah, there- there’s something on the wall back there.”</p><p>That certainly catches the Doctor’s attention. “What sort of something?”</p><p>Turning, Lynne heads back into the tunnels. The faint splashing of footsteps in the water breaks the dead air of the sewers. When Lynne lifts her torch to shine against a wall, it reveals a dark patch of viscous-looking liquid clinging to the brickwork, but no creature that could have produced it.</p><p>“It’s moved,” Lynne breathes.</p><p>“What did it look like?” the Doctor demands.</p><p>“Like a," Lynne pauses and gestures, "massive sort of squid thing.”</p><p>She steps forward, inspecting the substance. Then, after a second, she runs the tip of her finger along the wall. The liquid, whatever it is, is cold and sticky, clinging to her finger when she draws back.</p><p>“Ugh, really?” Ryan groans.</p><p>“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Grace whispers.</p><p>It probably isn’t, but that’s never stopped her before.</p><p>“When we get back in the TARDIS, you’re washing your hands,” the Master says firmly.</p><p>She ignores him. “Can you get me something to store this in for analysis, please, Mitch?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Mitch nods and heads back towards the TARDIS. He seems grateful for the excuse to leave, and she doesn’t blame him.</p><p>“So, Doc,” Graham says. “If it was there, and it’s not there now, I assume it’s roaming around here. In the water. Should we be worried?”</p><p>“Probably,” the Doctor replies.</p><p>“Definitely,” the Master corrects, though he doesn’t seem too worried himself. “It could be anywhere by now if it got into the water.”</p><p>That raises another question. “Where are we, exactly?”</p><p>“Underneath Sheffield Town Hall,” Lynne says. “And he’s right, the sewers lead all the way under the city.”</p><p>The Doctor hums. It seems a strange coincidence that this would happen in Sheffield, especially given that her companions all live there. Still, it’s not too odd. Aliens pop up everywhere, and she just tends to pay more attention to the places her humans care about. Her train of thought is derailed when Mitch reappears next to her with a glass sample dish in his hand.</p><p>“I want you out of these tunnels, right now,” she says, taking the dish. “I’m putting this site under quarantine. Yaz’ll escort you. And if you see any sort of creature, don’t go near it. Not until we’ve worked out what it is. Assume proximity is a risk.”</p><p>Yaz nods and leads the two humans out of the sewers. The Doctor scoops some more of the goo into the sample dish, then turns to the Master.</p><p>“Any theories?”</p><p>He shrugs. “Not a clue. ‘Squid’ is a pretty common bauplan, and ‘squid that makes goo’ isn’t much more specific.”</p><p>Unfortunately, he’s right. Without having seen the creature, the Doctor doesn’t have a lot to go on. At least she has a sample of the goo in question, but the TARDIS’ chemical analysis lab is a little understocked following the untimely escape of some of the predatory parrots from the rainforest - <em> that </em> had been a mess. She’ll need to get something to check the protein alignments before she can really learn anything.</p><p>The Doctor heads for the TARDIS. Grace and Graham probably have eggs that they won’t mind her borrowing, and those should work in a pinch.</p><p>“Come on, Yaz!” she calls.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Contrary to the Master’s wishes, the Doctor does not wash her hands once she gets back in the TARDIS. If the goop hasn’t done anything to her yet, it’s probably fine. And if she’s wrong, he can gloat all he likes.</p><p>“I’ve got the TARDIS scanning for non-terrestrial life signals,” she explains as they take off. It’s going to take a while to filter out everything that’s supposed to be there, though, so the Doctor’s not exactly holding her breath.</p><p>“So, where are we actually going?” Graham asks.</p><p>The Doctor looks up at him like it should be obvious. “Your house, of course!”</p><p>Graham opens his mouth to protest, but it’s a bit too late to stop the TARDIS from materializing. As soon as the ship is fully landed, the Doctor steps out into the front room of the O’Brien house. It looks much the same as it had the first week after she had regenerated, though with the addition of one very startled Kira Arlo on the couch.</p><p>“Hi Kira,” the Doctor says, waving. “Where’s the kitchen? Need to borrow some eggs.”</p><p>“What do you mean, borrow?” Graham demands.</p><p>“I need to check the protein alignments in the goo,” she explains.</p><p>Grace points the Doctor in the right direction, but she barely makes it a step before a noise blares through the house. She whirls around.</p><p>“Is that your intruder alert, or mine?”</p><p>“I think it’s the doorbell,” Kira says.</p><p>“Oh, yeah, sorry.” The Doctor turns back to the kitchen.</p><p>She grabs three eggs, just to be safe, and is halfway back to the TARDIS when the sound happens once more.</p><p>“Intruder alert again?” she asks.</p><p>“It’s a doorbell,” Graham sighs.</p><p>The Master follows the Doctor into the TARDIS, though she really doesn’t need the help setting up the analysis. Still, it’s nice to have him there. Once everything’s in place and running, though, there’s not much either of them can do to make it happen any faster.</p><p>She turns to the Master. “I’m gonna go chat with Kira, see how she’s been doing. You can stay here if you want.”</p><p>“You trust me alone in the TARDIS?” She can’t tell if the shock in his eyes is genuine or not.</p><p>“‘Course I do. She’s not going to let you steal her, and I don’t think you even want to.”</p><p>He grins at that. “Maybe that’s what I want you to think.”</p><p>The Doctor resists the urge to roll her eyes by a very narrow margin. “Sure. Are you coming or not?”</p><p>“I think I’d rather babysit the goop than your pets.”</p><p>“They’re not pets!” the Doctor protests as she steps out of the TARDIS-</p><p>-and straight into what looks like a very uncomfortable situation. Standing in the living room is an older man, currently being crushed in Grace’s embrace, though he doesn’t necessarily look pleased about it. If anything, Graham manages to look even less happy. Ryan is standing awkwardly to the side, trying to look anywhere but the man.</p><p>After a moment, Grace releases the man from the hug.</p><p>“Aaron, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is my son, Aaron.”</p><p>“Oh.” The Doctor realizes that her voice is a bit cold, but she doesn’t care. “Hi, Aaron. You’re Ryan’s dad.”</p><p>It’s not really a question, but Aaron nods anyway, then extends his hand for a shake. She doesn’t take it.</p><p>“Why’d you leave Ryan?”</p><p>That is a question, and a pointed one. Aaron freezes and slowly pulls his hand back. Grace gives the Doctor a look, which the Doctor promptly ignores. She had wondered why Ryan had been so sure that Erik had left Hanne, all those weeks ago. It hadn’t been hard to put together that it was something like this, but… seeing Ryan’s obvious discomfort now has her righteously annoyed, if not angry.</p><p>After a long moment, Aaron looks at Grace and Ryan. “I was thinking, maybe the three of us could grab a coffee?”</p><p>“Sure, love,” Grace nods. “Graham, you don’t mind staying here, do you?”</p><p>Graham shakes his head.</p><p>“If you need somewhere to go, the cafe around the corner should be open,” Yaz suggests, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. “Kira and I were just there last week, so…”</p><p>“Right. Yeah,” Ryan says.</p><p>“They have really nice muffins,” Kira adds. “In case, uh, in case you’re hungry.”</p><p>Aaron nods stiffly, then turns to leave.</p><p>Graham stands up before he can. “Aaron, can I have a word?”</p><p>Though he looks reluctant, Aaron nods again, and both men head towards the door, leaving the Doctor in the living room with Yaz and Kira. In the end, it’s Kira who speaks first.</p><p>“I’m really liking it here,” she says. “It’s nice. The shop I’m at is better than Kerblam was. No robots watching everything I do, and nobody’s tried to blow it up.”</p><p>“That’s good!” The Doctor smiles. “Ryan’s mentioned that you two are getting along well.”</p><p>Both of them blush, confirming her theory that there’s something more than just friendship going on there. Ryan’s teasing had given her a hint, but she hadn’t been sure. Privately, she thinks it’s good for Yaz to have someone who isn’t part of their immediate group. She’s seen too many companions get too tangled up in her way of life for their own good, and Yaz is the most likely of her current fam to do so. Kira grounds her.</p><p>“It’s just nice having someone who knows about what we do,” Yaz says, still blushing.</p><p>“Yaz’s been teaching me about Earth culture.” Kira smiles softly. “It’s really fascinating.”</p><p>The Doctor is about to ask another question, something just innocent enough that Yaz won’t be able to prove that she’s embarrassing her on purpose, when she feels a spike of fear from the Master. Genuine, hearts-racing panic that not even he is good enough to fake.</p><p>“Sorry, need to check on something,” she says quickly, heading for the TARDIS.</p><p>Inside, the Master is standing at the console, his fingers in a tight grip on the edge, looking at one of the monitors with such unrestrained <em> hatred </em> that the Doctor is a little taken aback. She hasn’t seen him this flat-out furious in a very long time.</p><p>“What is it?” she asks, and then she sees what’s on the screen.</p><p>Her hearts plummet. She’d gotten rid of the Daleks dozens of times over- she’d made <em> sure </em> they were gone, dead, torn to shreds and left to rot and destroyed by Time itself and countless other ways and they <em> still </em> come back. The heavy feeling in her stomach starts as fear, but after a moment, it turns ever-so-quickly to a burning rage that rivals the Master’s.</p><p>How <em> dare </em> they keep coming back, after all she’s sacrificed to rid the universe of them? How <em> dare they </em> continue to threaten the people she’s sworn to protect, the people she loves?</p><p>“I’m going to destroy it,” the Master says, voice trembling. He’s not asking permission, not like he has for the other morally ambiguous things he’s done since they started traveling together. He knows he doesn’t need to. He knows she’s going to help him do it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The Doctor is a dirty dirty liar at times, but at least the Master supports her!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For a long, long moment, neither Time Lord says anything. The Doctor is caught somewhere between fury and frustration, her mind replaying every time she thought she’d finally destroyed the Daleks for good, only to be proven wrong once again. She isn’t quite sure what the Master’s thinking, but it probably isn’t much more pleasant, if the emotions she’s catching glimpses of are any clue.</p><p>“Lynne said it looked like a squid,” the Doctor says finally. “So it must be out of its casing. It’ll be more vulnerable, at least.”</p><p>“That’s not helpful if we can’t <em> find it</em>,” the Master points out, his voice sharp with annoyance.</p><p>“You think I don’t know that?” the Doctor snaps. She inhales sharply, then slowly lets it out. Arguing won’t help, as tempting as it is. “I can have the TARDIS scan for the DNA in this area, but we still don’t know how it got here. Or how it’s getting around.”</p><p>She starts moving around the console, fiddling with the scanner settings to lock on to any trace of the Dalek. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the doors open.</p><p>“Doctor?” Yaz calls. “I was getting worried, you said you needed to check on something but you’ve been in here for a while.”</p><p>“When did I-” the Doctor starts, and then remembers. “Right, yes, the thing I needed to check on. Yep. Well, the thing is thoroughly checked.”</p><p>“You were in here chatting with the Master, weren’t you.” Yaz looks unimpressed. “Did you at least find out what that squid was?”</p><p>The Doctor freezes. Until now, she’s been able to keep her companions in the dark about her past, at least for the most part. She’s talked about old companions when she’s had to, and the Master has certainly made it harder to avoid mentioning certain things, but… Daleks are on a different level. They’ve plagued her steps from the very beginning, and she’s lost too many people to them to want to risk more. If there’s any way to avoid putting her humans at more risk than they already are, she knows she should take it.</p><p>“No,” she lies. “Haven’t got the results back yet. I’m going to recalibrate some settings and see if that helps.”</p><p>Yaz meets her eyes, just for a second, and then nods. “Okay. If you need me, I’ll be in the living room.”</p><p>The TARDIS doors close behind Yaz as she leaves, and the Doctor relaxes.</p><p>“Lying to your humans again?” the Master says, raising an eyebrow. “Let me guess, keeping them safe.”</p><p>“You know that this is too dangerous for them,” the Doctor argues. “This isn’t some fun little adventure that they’ll laugh about later, once it’s all over. They could die. I can’t have that on my conscience. Not again.”</p><p>“I’m not judging you,” he says softly.</p><p>She shouldn’t find that as reassuring as she does. She <em> definitely </em> shouldn’t relax so easily into his arms when he wraps them around her. Knowing this doesn’t stop her from doing either.</p><p>“We need to find out how it got here,” the Doctor says after a second, straightening. “Maybe the archaeologists on that dig saw something.”</p><p>The Master pulls a face like he just bit into a lemon. “Archaeologists, love, really? Must we stoop so low?”</p><p>Ignoring his dramatics, the Doctor opens the doors with a snap of her fingers.</p><p>“Yaz, I need to borrow your phone!” she shouts.</p><p>Yaz sticks her head into the TARDIS, looking baffled. “What for?”</p><p>“I need to… uh…” Perhaps she should have thought of an excuse beforehand.</p><p>“She wants to check on those archaeologists,” the Master says smoothly. “Preliminary reports on the slime are indicating that it could be poisonous to humans.”</p><p>Quickly, Yaz grabs her phone out of her pocket, unlocks it, and holds it out for the Doctor to take. “Here. Their info is in my contacts. Just don’t wipe it like you did Ryan’s.”</p><p>“I fixed it!” the Doctor protests. “Eventually.”</p><p>Yaz rolls her eyes and steps back out of the TARDIS, closing the door behind her once more.</p><p>The Doctor turns to the Master, somewhere between grateful and guilty. “Thank you.”</p><p>“Of course, dear.” He grabs her wrist gently as she walks past him, stopping her and turning her to face him. “I want that thing gone just as badly as you. Your pets-” The Doctor makes a face and he corrects himself with a sigh. “Alright, fine, your <em> companions </em>would only make that harder. I’m not going to try to drag them into this for no reason.”</p><p>There’s another sentence left unspoken - she should trust him by now, she should be able to fall backwards knowing he’ll catch her. Her reply is silent, but just as clear; it’s not that simple, and they both know it. Even though they’re working on rebuilding that trust, slowly but steadily, she still feels the urge to check behind her before letting herself go.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It doesn’t take long for the Doctor to find Mitch and Lynne in Yaz’s phone. Lynne goes straight to voicemail, but Mitch picks up after a few rings.</p><p>“Hello? Who is this?”</p><p>“Mitch, hi, it’s the Doctor.” Circling the console, she begins tracing the phone call. “Stay where you are and try not to freak out in a few seconds.”</p><p>“Sorry, what?” Mitch yelps, sounding like he isn’t following the Doctor’s advice at all.</p><p>The TARDIS materializes before she can reply. Through the phone, she can hear Mitch gasp. She hangs up on him, but doesn’t feel particularly bad about it seeing as she landed about ten feet from where he’s standing.</p><p>“How did it do that?” Mitch demands, his eyes locked on the TARDIS. “I was just on the phone with you, how are you here?”</p><p>“No time. Come on,” she says. Normally, the Doctor would be delighted to explain the intricacies of how TARDISes work and how she was able to follow the phone call to his location. Normally, there isn’t a Dalek on the loose that she needs to find.</p><p>Mitch obediently trails after her into the TARDIS, and though she doesn’t look at his expression when he sees the inside, she can make an educated guess. He’s a gawker, she can tell, so he’s probably staring awestruck at the size of the console room.</p><p>“Yes, it’s bigger on the inside than your tiny mortal mind can grasp, it’s very impressive,” the Master drawls. “At least close your mouth, that’s just impolite.”</p><p>The Doctor can hear the click of Mitch’s teeth as he shuts his mouth quickly. She gives the Master a slightly disapproving look as she sends the TARDIS into the Vortex.</p><p>“<em>Don’t be rude! </em>” she scolds.</p><p>He sends back a rather pointed memory of the results on the scanner. “<em>Right, yes, that’s clearly the most pressing issue right now.</em>”</p><p>Begrudgingly, she admits that he’s right. They have bigger problems than upsetting one human.</p><p>“Mitch, that dig of yours - was there anything alien-looking that you uncovered?” the Doctor asks.</p><p>“What? No, they’re historical artifacts. They’ve been there for centuries!” Mitch says.</p><p>The Master laughs. “It’s adorable how you think that means anything.”</p><p>“Wait,” Mitch says slowly. “You’re not from the Order of the Custodians, are you?”</p><p>The Doctor tilts her head. “What’s the Order of the Custodians?”</p><p>If she’s never heard of it before now, then it’s either very small or very, <em> very </em> secretive. Possibly both. But if Mitch thinks it could be related to the dig, then it might be important.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The explanation Mitch manages to give is vague and rambling, but it’s enough for the Doctor to put together what happened. A Dalek came to Earth millennia ago, was defeated at least temporarily by humans, and split apart. They probably thought that that, combined with burying the pieces of the body as far from each other as possible and guarding them, would be sufficient to kill it. Of course, with Daleks, it’s never that easy. The ultraviolet light used at the archaeological dig provided just enough energy to revive the Dalek, allowing it to bring the parts of its body back together - the spatial shift that she’d detected.</p><p>“There’s been a Dalek buried on Earth since the ninth century just waiting to get brought back.” The Doctor laughs, short and sarcastic. “Even if I had killed the rest of them for good, it wouldn’t have mattered.”</p><p>“I’m sorry, a what?” Mitch asks.</p><p>“One of the most dangerous creatures in the universe,” the Doctor says.</p><p>“Barring us, of course,” the Master adds lightly.</p><p>Mitch goes pale and starts backing towards the doors. Not that it would do him any good if he managed to get them open; they’re still in the Vortex.</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you,” the Master sighs. “Neither is she. At least, not on purpose. The Dalek, though… Oh, it definitely wants you dead. It wants all of us dead."</p><p>“Wait, what about Lynne?” Mitch demands. “Have you warned her?”</p><p>“Tried to,” the Doctor says. “She didn’t answer her phone.”</p><p>Mitch shakes his head. “No, she keeps her phone on all the time. She’s the instant replier - it’s a running joke with us.”</p><p>A horrible, painful thought occurs to the Doctor.</p><p>“In the sewers, were you together all the time?” she asks.</p><p>“No, she went off to look for…” Mitch pauses, realization dawning. “For one of the missing artifacts. That’s when she found the squid.” He meets the Doctor’s eyes for the first time, worry and fear plain in his own. “Tell me she’s safe.”</p><p>“I can’t do that,” she says quietly. Then she perks up as an idea strikes her. “But! I can use Yaz’s phone to check where Lynne is. Her number’s in the phone, so if I hook it up to the TARDIS, we should be able to track her.”</p><p>The Doctor does exactly that, trying to stay positive as she triangulates the position of Lynne’s phone. Chances of Lynne being safe are slim, but not zero. She could just be asleep, or have her phone turned off for some other reason. That optimism dies rather quickly when she cross-references the results with the location of the Dalek.</p><p>“It’s the same place,” she whispers. Projected on one of the monitors is a map of Sheffield, zoomed in to focus on a pair of dots - red for the Dalek, green for Lynne’s phone. They’re blinking in and out on top of each other, alternating. Lynne, Dalek, Lynne, Dalek, over and over again until the Doctor forces herself to look away.</p><p>“You mean it’s holding her hostage?” Mitch asks.</p><p>“We know how it’s getting around now,” the Master says. Any teasing or taunting is gone from his voice; all that remains is fury.</p><p>Mitch looks at the Doctor with wide, desperate eyes. “How can you be so sure?”</p><p>The Doctor’s voice is flat with cold, calculating anger when she replies. “I learned to think like a Dalek a long time ago.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time for the first of the Dalek confrontations, plus some more of the new hit show, Dodging Your Friends With The Doctor!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Graham likes to think of himself as a somewhat rational person. You have to be, when you spend all day driving busloads of people around a city. You learn to be calm, deal with problems in the simplest way possible, and judge character quickly and accurately. Graham is good at all of these things.</p><p>So, when he comes back into his living room after having a capital-t Talk with his stepson - and even after all these years, it’s still <em> weird </em> to think of Aaron like that - and sees that the TARDIS is gone, Graham does not panic. He gets annoyed, sure, but he’s used to the Doc forgetting to grab someone before taking off. But usually she doesn’t forget Yaz, and she’s <em> never </em> forgotten two people. That worries him a little.</p><p>“Where’s the Doc gone?” he asks.</p><p>“Good question,” Yaz mutters. “She took my phone, said something about calling Mitch and Lynne, and then disappeared.”</p><p>“Maybe she’s just checking on them in person,” Graham suggests. It's weird, for sure, but so is the Doc.</p><p>Yaz sighs. “Maybe. But it’s not like her to not ask us to come along.”</p><p>“We could always call your phone and check,” Kira says. “I mean, if you’re really worried.”</p><p>Yaz’s eyes light up. “Kira, you’re brilliant!”</p><p>“Oh, uh, thanks.” Kira blushes.</p><p>Graham gets it, he really does. Young love is sweet and wonderful and everything, and the two young women seem perfect for each other. Unfortunately, he’s had to live with both of them dancing around each other for a month now. Every time Yaz calls Ryan’s phone to talk to Kira, the poor girl is flustered the rest of the day. Every weekend without fail, they’re out on a date that they refuse to call a date. It’s getting absurd.</p><p>So, while the two of them gush over how <em> wonderful </em> and <em> clever </em> the other is, Graham pulls out his mobile and calls Yaz’s phone.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Doctor does not startle when Yaz’s phone begins to ring. She just whirls around and squeaks a little bit. Unfortunately, the Master notices and does a very bad job of muffling his laughter behind one hand. Shooting a glare at him, the Doctor checks Yaz’s phone and sees that Graham is the one calling. She answers.</p><p>“Doc, where are you?” Graham asks, sounding concerned.</p><p>“Hi Graham!” she says, forcing cheer into her voice. “Sorry I left you. Needed to do something. It’s really boring. Figured you wouldn’t want to come along. Should be back soon. Say hi to Yaz for me. Bye!”</p><p>As quickly as she can, the Doctor hangs up. The fewer details she gives her fam about what she’s up to, the less worried they’ll be. Hopefully. She doesn’t want them getting any ideas and trying to find her. Dropping Mitch off was a bit of a risk in that department, but it was better than dragging him around. Besides, Yaz’s phone is the only one that has Mitch’s number.</p><p>She's about to get back to tracking the Dalek when an alarm starts to blare - an important one, at that. Before she can react, or even find out why it's going off, there's a shower of sparks from the console as something short circuits. It wasn't an issue with the TARDIS herself, so it must have been caused by the Dalek.</p><p>"It shouldn't be able to do that," the Doctor mutters. "How can it do that?"</p><p>“Maybe it’s because your ship is held together with string and whatever you find on junk planets,” the Master suggests. Then he yelps and yanks his hand away from where it was resting on the console, hissing in pain. The crystals of the TARDIS flush a defensive red.</p><p>The Doctor shakes her head. “I think it’s a recon scout. And it’s shorted the navigation.”</p><p>“Oh, <em> wonderful</em>,” the Master says through gritted teeth. “That’s <em> so much better. </em>”</p><p>“I’m not having this.” Kneeling, the Doctor pries up a piece of the flooring to look at the inner workings. It’s not difficult to get the systems up and running again, but she needs to act quick if she wants it to make a difference. “Go get me something to grease the geo-roidal locks with.”</p><p>She doesn’t look up to check if the Master listened; they both know how important this is, and that his annoyance is mostly an act anyways. Even when they were on opposite sides, whenever the Master’s plans inevitably went awry, the Doctor would help pick up the pieces. This is really no different - just skipping ahead to the frantic repairs.</p><p>Fixing the navigation itself would take too long, but together the Time Lords manage to cobble together something that will work until the TARDIS has the time for a proper reboot. The Doctor hauls herself to her feet and begins to set up a way to communicate with the Dalek. She needs to have a talk with that abomination.</p><p>It’s far easier to hijack the speakers of Lynne’s phone than it probably should be. But, as guilty as the Doctor knows she should feel, the humans did this to themselves, and she’s not going to complain at the moment. When she flips the final switch to listen in, she can hear a muddled, robotic voice.</p><p>"Stop," the Doctor orders. "I know you can hear me right now."</p><p>Lynne's voice echoes through the TARDIS, distorted and wrong. "<b>Who are you?</b>"</p><p>"I'm your secret conscience," the Doctor quips. The humor falls from her tone. "Not really. We both know you don't have one."</p><p>“<b>How are you communicating?</b>” the Dalek demands.</p><p>Oh, as if she’s going to give that away. The last thing she needs is for her main method of contact with the thing to get destroyed.</p><p>“You might have disabled my navigation, but I’ve still got a trick or two,” the Doctor says. “Like I know you’re a refugee from the planet Skaro. What sort of Dalek are you, anyway?”</p><p>“<b>My mission is reconnaissance and conquest.</b>”</p><p>The Doctor raises her eyebrows at the Master, perhaps a little too smug. He rolls his eyes.</p><p>“<b>All humanity is my prisoner, now,</b>” the Dalek continues.</p><p>“In your dreams, mate,” the Doctor scoffs. “You’ve got no casing, no weapons, and no chance.”</p><p>“<b>I have weapons.</b>”</p><p>She had really been hoping that wasn’t the case. “Right.”</p><p>In a mirror of her earlier actions, the Master raises his eyebrows at her.</p><p>“Okay. Well, whoop-de-doo. You’ve got a weapon after all. Lot of good it’s gonna do you.” She’s not even bluffing, not really. While it would have been nice to be able to destroy the thing without as much hassle… the Doctor didn’t survive the Time War without knowing how to deal with Dalek weapons.</p><p>Her bravado doesn’t seem to faze it. “<b>This planet is now the property of the Daleks.</b>”</p><p>“I know seven billion people who might have something to say about that,” the Doctor says, pacing around the console. “Now, you might have a weapon, but you’re a long way from conquest. Release the woman you’re holding prisoner.”</p><p>Gurgling, choking laughter floods from the speakers, mocking her. Fury thrums through the Doctor's hearts, and before she can think better of it, she throws a switch on the console to cheat a little. The bio-tracking isn't stable enough to last for very long or provide a full hologram, but it's enough for a bust.</p><p>The flickering image of Lynne's face floating in mid-air is cold and cruel. While the greyscale coloring isn't helping, the true cause is visible in her eyes. They're blank, almost dead, and focused with a hearts-stopping hatred on the Doctor.</p><p>"Now," the Doctor says, voice dangerously low as she leans forward, "do that again to my face."</p><p>It doesn't - in fact, the Doctor's almost certain she saw it flinch backwards ever-so-slightly when she leaned in. The part of her that had thrived in the Time War, the cruel and terrible part that made her such an effective soldier, <em> sings </em>. Harmonizing with it, tucked in the back of her mind, is the Master's appreciation and delight.</p><p>Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him watching silently as she talks to the Dalek. His gaze is locked on her, and something about it sends a shiver down her spine.</p><p>“<b>What is this?</b>” the Dalek growls.</p><p>“This is your last warning,” the Doctor replies. Her voice is deadly serious. “Won’t last long, but I need you to see just how serious my face is right now. But it’s not just you I want to talk to.”</p><p>Flipping a few switches on the console changes the settings for the bio-tracking, blocking out any non-human signals for as long as it can. She even manages colors, though they’re washed-out and dull.</p><p>Lynne gasps and leans forward, staggering. The telepathic strain of the connection is too much for a human to withstand for very long, but it’s probably a relief to have her mind free of the Dalek, no matter how short the break is.</p><p>“Lynne, I need you to know we’re coming for you,” the Doctor says quickly. “Mitch is okay. I know you’re scared, but you need to keep fighting. I promise, I’ll get you out of there.”</p><p>As a general rule, the Doctor tries not to give people false hope. But even though she has no idea whether she’ll get there fast enough to follow through, she can’t afford for Lynne to give up and let the Dalek have full control. The thought of that <em> thing </em> having nothing to hold it back is a frightening one.</p><p>The Doctor can tell when Lynne’s overtaxed mind finally gives in; not just because the holograph flickers back to black and white, but because her eyes go cold and terrible once more.</p><p>“<b>This feeble vessel will not fight,</b> ” the Dalek snarls. “ <b>The Daleks are supreme.</b>”</p><p>The TARDIS console dings softly.</p><p>“Yeah?” She bares her teeth in something that could be called a grin. “If you’re so supreme, how come you let me keep you chatting while I rebooted my systems?”</p><p>The Dalek growls and the holograph flickers off. She’s certain the Dalek is already blocking the signal she’s tracing, but it won’t be quick enough to stop her; now that she’s caught its scent, everything between now and its death is just a matter of time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Dalek confrontation 2 - The One I Wrote From The Master's POV, Because Feral 13 Good</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“MDZ Research,” the Doctor mutters. “What was it doing there?”</p><p>She’s watching the monitors closely. The Dalek hasn’t completely blocked the bio-tracking signal yet, so she can still see the little red dot speeding across the map, heading… somewhere.</p><p>“They do weapons research,” the Master says. “I’m pretty sure they have a few of my old Tissue Compression Eliminators.”</p><p>The Doctor looks up. “You said you destroyed those.”</p><p>“Technically, I said I destroyed the ones I still had,” the Master points out. “If MDZ has them, then <em> I </em> do not. Believe me, dear, it's not for lack of trying on my part."</p><p>She’s about to argue that he knows that’s not what she meant, but the sudden disappearance of the bio-tracker on the Dalek grabs her attention. Well, that simply won’t do.</p><p>Hacking into the traffic camera system is laughably easy. It doesn’t last long, though; as quickly as she can access them, the Dalek is destroying the cameras. The Doctor can handle that.</p><p>“Right, switching to satellite monitoring.” The Doctor grins. “See? Can’t get away that easy.”</p><p>There’s a part of her that’s enjoying this, enjoying having an opponent that really challenges her. It’s been so long since there’s been anyone truly difficult to take down. Even orchestrating the paradox on Opellan hadn’t been <em> hard </em>, just tedious. This chase has her hearts thrumming, her mind racing, and even though she knows it’s terrible she can’t help but like it.</p><p>“Speaking of weapons, dear, how do you plan to kill it once you catch it?” the Master asks.</p><p>The Doctor falters. “I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”</p><p>Her plans - or at least, the vague ideas she was going to call plans - had mostly consisted of cornering the Dalek and then listening to it scream for mercy. The details of <em> how </em> were fuzzy at best. That didn’t really worry her, though. She could improvise.</p><p>“Well, if you don’t think of something, I will,” the Master says.</p><p>The Doctor doesn’t have a response to that. If this were any other situation, she would be angry at him for making such a threat. Here and now, it sounds more like a promise.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Using the satellites to track the car leads them to a farm, somewhere on the outskirts of Sheffield. The cold sun reflects sharply off of the corrugated metal of the buildings. There isn’t a single noise to disturb the eerie silence of the surrounding fields, just the slight breeze.</p><p>Lying face down on the asphalt is a human. The Master can tell even before the Doctor sonics the body that it’s dead - there’s the faint smell of burning in the air that Dalek weapons always cause. She checks anyways, and from the look in her eyes, he was right.</p><p>“That’s what it found at MDZ,” she says quietly. “It went and found its weapon after all this time.”</p><p>The clanging of metal breaks the quiet, echoing from the largest of the buildings. Both Time Lords turn. Without saying a word, they head towards it.</p><p>Inside, there’s an odd mix of old machinery, spare parts, and miscellaneous junk that speaks to several decades spent shoving anything that needed a place into any open space. Old wooden pallets are stacked up against the thin metal wall separating this section from the rest of the building. It almost reminds the Master of the Doctor’s workshop, though he doesn’t say it.</p><p>From somewhere in the depths of the place, there’s a shout.</p><p>“Lynne?” the Doctor calls. “Is that you?”</p><p>There’s no reply, but the Doctor’s already jogging through the piles of rusted metal and broken plastic to find the source. The Master follows, with significantly less enthusiasm.</p><p>On a clear patch of floor, curled into a ball, is Lynne. Her shoulders are shaking, and she barely manages to raise her head to look at them as they approach.</p><p>“I’m sorry,” she whimpers. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>The Doctor kneels down on the concrete, trying to get a look at the back of Lynne’s neck. Lynne makes an admirable effort at trying to hug her as she does so, but only manages to unbalance herself. </p><p>“You should be okay,” the Doctor says after a moment. “You did the best you could, and you won.”</p><p>Lynne looks up at her, urgent. “No, listen, it’s still here!”</p><p>From the place he’s standing, the Master can’t see the Doctor’s face. But he can feel the mix of emotions that trickle through their bond - a vicious sort of glee, anxiety, and a sharp edge of fury. It’s beautiful.</p><p>“Lynne, can you walk?” she asks.</p><p>The human shakes her head. “I- I don’t know. Maybe?”</p><p>“You’re going to have to,” the Doctor says firmly. “Get out of here, and head through the field to the big blue box. The doors should open for you. Just stay put there until we come back, okay?”</p><p>Still shaky, Lynne nods. Grabbing onto a nearby table, she manages to stand. Her steps are staggering and unsteady, but she should be able to make it to the TARDIS.</p><p>The Doctor turns to face the Master, her eyes dark with anger. “Ready?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Through the doors, past the metal sheeting, is a wide, open area. Large, uneven sheets of plastic hang from the ceiling, obscuring any direct lines of sight through the room. Slowly, the Doctor creeps through, stepping up onto old pieces of industrial machinery and peering around the plastic sheets with caution. The Master follows a few steps behind her, just as quiet.</p><p>A low whirring noise fills the air. It seems to be coming from behind a set of double doors, leading further into the building. The Doctor leans closer, ever so slightly, and-</p><p>Flames burst from the doorway as the wooden doors explode outwards, showering the area with shards of smoking wood. From among the smoke and ash filling the air, a shadow emerges. The silhouette is unmistakable; after spending a literally uncountable amount of time at war with them, the Master would know a Dalek anywhere.</p><p>“EXTERMINATE!”</p><p>The Master ducks back, anticipating a blast, but nothing comes. He straightens quickly.</p><p>“Blocking your laser signals, mate,” the Doctor says. Her sonic is pointed at the Dalek. “You’re not fully in sync yet.”</p><p>Oh, that’s clever. It takes time for a Dalek to readjust to its casing after leaving, and this one’s been out for centuries, not to mention the dubious quality of its new home. As long as it’s still not fully connected, the signals to the lasers can be halted.</p><p>The Dalek rolls forward, but the Doctor <em> stalks </em> across the way to meet it. The Master isn't nearly foolish enough to get in her way when she's like this, so he hangs back.</p><p>“So that’s what you’ve been doing,” she mutters. “Reconstructing yourself from memory, and remnants, and,” she scronches, “spare parts.”</p><p>She circles it, taking in the smorgasbord of materials making up its casing with disdain.</p><p>“I AM REBUILT!” the Dalek proclaims.</p><p>It swirls its head to keep watching her as she finishes her loop around it. If the Master didn’t know better, he’d say it was nervous.</p><p>“What d’you call this look?” the Doctor asks, taunting. “Junkyard chic?”</p><p>“EARTH IS NOW UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE DALEKS!” the creature insists.</p><p>“No, it’s not,” the Doctor says. “You couldn’t even control one person.”</p><p>“HUMANITY WILL SURRENDER!”</p><p>“They really won’t!” she replies. The Master can tell she’s gearing up for a self-righteous speech, but for once, he doesn’t care. “Trust me, I’ve seen them in action. They’ve fought off so many things, including the worst of their own people. They’re <em> really </em> stubborn. Have you not worked that out yet? Even the recon scout Daleks, the first ones out of Skaro. Humanity bands together, vanquishes you, and buries you for centuries.”</p><p>“YET I SURVIVED.”</p><p>That makes her pause, for just a second. A stab of guilt trickles through to the Master’s mind.</p><p>“Yeah,” the Doctor says, her voice cold. “You’re good at that. But it won’t be enough.”</p><p>The Dalek doesn’t seem to agree. “THIS PLANET IS ANNEXED. THE FLEET WILL BE SUMMONED.”</p><p>That could be a significant issue, if what it says is true. One Dalek is relatively easy to kill, when done right. A fleet, however… a fleet could spell trouble.</p><p>The Doctor doesn’t even flinch. “You don’t have the ability. You don’t have the strength.”</p><p>“YOU ARE WEAK. HUMANITY IS WEAK.”</p><p>Circling - no, prowling, the action is too predatory for any other verb - around the Dalek again, the Doctor <em> grins. </em> The Master feels a shiver run down his spine and lodge between his hearts, the feeling electrifying.</p><p>“Except,” the Doctor says, still smiling, “I’m not human.” She flings her arms wide. “Have a scan!”</p><p>The Dalek’s eyestalk moves down, then back up. And then it does something that the Master doesn’t think he’s ever seen a Dalek do. It retreats.</p><p>“WHO ARE YOU?” the Dalek demands, rolling backwards. “IDENTIFY!”</p><p>“Oh, mate.” The Doctor leans down, her teeth still showing in a parody of friendliness. “I’m the Doctor. Ring any bells?”</p><p>This is the Doctor as she’s meant to be, the Master thinks, a force of nature letting loose at last. He’s caught somewhere between awe and fear, utterly and hopelessly in love with this fearsome being, this Oncoming Storm. If there’s any moment he hopes to never forget, this is a strong contender.</p><p>Then the Doctor’s sonic fizzles out, and the Dalek halts the frantic movements of its eyestalk.</p><p>“SONIC DEVICE OVERRIDE!”</p><p>“I’ll take that as a yes!” the Doctor yelps.</p><p>And just like that, the moment is broken. The Doctor turns and runs, grabbing the Master’s hand to yank him after her, scrambling off of the machinery and behind the remains of a tractor as the Dalek shouts. Several blasts come worryingly close to where they are.</p><p>“You want this planet, you’re going to have to come through me!” the Doctor says, her hand tight on the Master’s. “So why don’t you make it easy on yourself and leave now?”</p><p>“CONQUEST HAS ALREADY STARTED! I HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION I NEED!”</p><p>The Doctor freezes. “What information?”</p><p>“HUMANITY WILL SURRENDER. DALEK INVASION FLEET WILL BE SUMMONED.”</p><p>That sends a jolt of fear through both Time Lords, and they exchange worried looks.</p><p>“TOTAL CONQUEST OF EARTH PREDICTED IN NINE-THREE-SEVEN-SIX RELS!”</p><p>The Dalek begins to levitate, bursting through the ceiling of the building, and both Time Lords <em>run.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter features: planning, plotting, and good, old-fashioned passive aggressive family discussions</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The frantic sprint back to the TARDIS leaves the Doctor out of breath, but she barely registers it. She needs to track that Dalek down and stop it from calling the rest of its fleet - and she doesn’t doubt for a second that there’s a fleet to summon. Knowing her luck, there’s a dozen of them just waiting to conquer Earth, and she can’t let that happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only reason she notices Lynne is because she’s leaning against the console, directly in the way of the dematerialization lever. Right, she should take care of Lynne first; the Dalek probably did a number on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling?” the Doctor asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lynne shivers slightly. “Uh, shaky.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not surprised, you will for a while.” The fact that Lynne managed to resist for that long is impressive in and of itself. “But you kept fighting it. Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Helpfully, the TARDIS console spits out a small plastic container of pills. They’re mostly antibiotics and nausea medication, with some mental boosters thrown in to help repair the damage the Dalek did to Lynne’s mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor hands the container to Lynne. “Take these. Three a minute for four minutes, don’t take with alcohol or you’ll grow an extra head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> was an embarrassing party.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I still have pictures,” the Master grins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you don’t, I burned them all the week after,” the Doctor says dismissively.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As far as you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ignoring him - she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>certain</span>
  </em>
  <span> she found all the pictures, so he must be bluffing - the Doctor moves around the console, re-entering the coordinates from the earlier trip to Mitch’s flat. The TARDIS protests at making another short-range hop, but manages to land them neatly outside of the housing complex.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was ready to kill me,” Lynne whispers, her voice still unsteady. “I could feel its hatred enveloping me. Is that what it’s going to do to the world?”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Daleks don’t usually keep the natives of the planets they conquer alive long enough for that,” the Master says. “Most of you humans would be dead before you really got to feel it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span> because we’re going to stop it,” the Doctor adds pointedly. “But it’s too dangerous for you, Lynne. We’re outside Mitch’s flat now, and you need to stay there until you feel better. If you start to feel any dizziness, nausea, the distinct feeling of snakes in your general vicinity, or a sudden pain in your left elbow, don’t panic. Those are all normal reactions to the medication, and they should pass in a few hours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor carefully puts Lynne’s arm around her shoulders and helps the human out of the TARDIS. She does her best to avoid any actual skin contact, but even the weight of Lynne’s arm makes her skin crawl a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mitch doesn’t even look surprised at first when he opens the door, but when he sees Lynne, his eyes go wide. He pulls her into a hug, which the woman slowly returns, until Lynne is leaning entirely on him. The Doctor takes her chance to step back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lynne! Are you okay? Is that- that </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> gone?” He directs the last question to the Doctor, still embracing Lynne.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not quite, but we’re working on it,” the Doctor says. “Lynne’s going to be fine. Just make sure she doesn’t fall asleep for the next couple hours or drink any alcohol.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nodding, Mitch gently helps Lynne into his flat. The Doctor’s gone before he can even turn around to thank her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If the Doctor wants to kill the Dalek, she’s going to need some sort of weapon. Guns are out of the question - even if she wanted to use one, bullets aren’t enough to kill a Dalek - dark star alloy is far too difficult to come by for such an impromptu situation, and it’s a recon scout, so most other methods won’t work either. Some sort of Time Lord technology is her best bet, but she doesn’t have any Gallifreyan weapons on her TARDIS.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dear, if you pace much longer you’re going to wear out the floor panels,” the Master sighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor doesn’t stop pacing. She can feel each second tick by, and it’s only making her more frantic.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need something that can pierce Dalekanium, but…” She pauses. “Wait, no we don’t! The shell isn’t pure Dalekanium, not any more. It rebuilt itself out of whatever was in that barn, and I doubt all of its original pieces made it there together. Most of the bottom section was definitely scrap metal. So, we just need to break that, and then the Dalek will be vulnerable!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master smiles. “I do love it when you’re destroying other people’s plans.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You said MDZ still had some of your old Tissue Compression Eliminators, right? How functional are they?” The Doctor’s already moving to the console before she sees the Master’s face light up.</span>
</p><p><span>“I might need to make a few modifications, but they should work,” he agrees. “But Doctor, isn’t that </span><em><span>wrong?</span></em> <em><span>Stealing</span></em><span> a </span><em><span>weapon</span></em><span> to </span><em><span>kill something?</span></em><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>His eyes are wide and innocent and extremely facetious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in this case,” she says. “And you know exactly why.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hypocrite.” The Master sounds far too fond when he says it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If there’s one thing Ryan hates the most in the world, it’s awkward conversations with his father. Even after traveling with the Doctor and seeing all sorts of horrific things - witch hunts, giant spiders that still lurk in his nightmares, those strange carnivorous shadows - listening to his dad try to justify leaving him behind is still at the top of the list. Having Nan there almost makes it worse, because Ryan’s sure she’s going to forgive him and invite him over for dinner and let him stay until he decides he’s changed his mind and leaves yet again. On the bright side, it also means that Ryan has to do very little of the talking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, he’s grateful to head back home, even if it means he’ll have to watch his dad and Graham have a stare-down over the dinner table. Worrying about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> almost removes all thoughts of the weird squid-thing they’d found in the sewers earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, it does until Ryan gets home to see Yaz pacing across the living room and the TARDIS nowhere to be seen. Kira isn’t in the living room either, but that’s less worrying; she normally spends her afternoons reading and catching up on Earth pop culture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he can even ask what happened, Yaz says, “The Doctor and the Master left, she took my phone, and she’s hiding something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan blinks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does it have to do with the squid?” he asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Probably, but all she said when she answered Graham’s call was that she was doing something boring.” Yaz reaches the end of the small room and turns around again. “But she said it using the Definitely Lying About Something Because She Doesn’t Want Us To Worry voice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throughout the time they’ve spent traveling with the Doctor, Ryan and Yaz have learned to identify ten distinct Voices that the Doctor uses when she’s trying to hide something. They keep a running tally of each time they hear one of the Voices get used, and there’s a betting pool on which one will be used next. That should probably be more worrying than either of them find it to be, but it’s honestly not anywhere close to the weirdest thing about the Doctor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe Nan should try calling her,” Ryan suggests. “She’s usually worse at lying to Nan.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Yaz asks. “Isn’t she a bit busy with… him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glances pointedly into the hallway where Nan, Graham, and Ryan’s dad are standing. There seems to be an intense conversation going on, though Ryan can’t hear what they’re saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I think the Doctor running off outranks my dad showing up unannounced to try to turn over a new leaf and convince me to move in with him,” Ryan mutters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what he was trying to do?” Yaz says, shocked. “I’m so sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan shrugs. “I told him no, so.... Anyways, I doubt Nan will mind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Let’s find out what the Doctor’s up to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trip to MDZ is a quick one; once the Doctor lands, careful to circumvent some very thorough security, she lets the Master loose to look for his old weaponry. She probably should have been supervising to make sure he didn’t take anything else, but she needed to find out where the Dalek went, and that took priority.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s halfway through tracking a suspiciously large heat signal that’s following a non-terrestrial lifeform when Yaz’s mobile rings again. Apparently her excuse to Graham hadn’t distracted her humans for long enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time, she doesn’t get a chance to speak before Grace is talking to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doctor, I don’t know where you are or what you’re doing, but it better not have something to do with the Wi-Fi suddenly shutting down across Britain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I don’t think-” The Doctor starts to defend herself, but then she glances down at the monitor again and sees where the Dalek is. Somehow, it’s managed to get to the Government Communications Headquarters. “No, sorry. That is connected, and it’s very, very bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Grace asks. “What’s happening?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t tell you right now, I need to take care of it. Don’t worry, if I get this right you won’t even notice!” the Doctor says with as much cheer as she can manage. “Gotta go, promise I’ll explain later, bye!”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grace starts to say something, but the Doctor hangs up before she really hears it. If the Dalek is at GCHQ, then it must be trying to call the fleet, and that means she needs to </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurry.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Instead of telling the Master to hurry up, the Doctor simply materializes the extremely annoyed TARDIS around him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master stumbles slightly as the Doctor begins heading for GCHQ, grabbing her arm to stabilize himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t have minded a warning, love,” he complains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, we don’t have time,” she replies. “The Dalek’s summoning the fleet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master freezes. “Ah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are the TCEs going to work?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They should,” he nods. “I managed to patch together parts from a few of the older models.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. We’re only gonna have one shot at this,” the Doctor warns.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Memories of what happens to planets that the Daleks manage to conquer flood her mind. The Arcadia burning to the ground, entire galaxies destroyed as collateral damage and then erased from Time entirely. She shoves it all away; she can’t afford to be distracted, not now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master meets her eyes. “I know.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The final Dalek confrontation!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When the Doctor steps out of the TARDIS and into GCHQ, it’s with far more confidence than she really feels. Her hands are in her pockets, concealing just how tightly clenched they are. She can’t afford to mess this up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Dalek is in the center of the room, surrounded by rubble and fragments of the ceiling it must have broken through to get in. It whirls around to face her and the Doctor freezes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t shoot!” she shouts, though she doesn’t expect the Dalek to listen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Exactly as she thought, it fires at her. The extended TARDIS shields block the shot, sending shockwaves rippling across the transparent surface. They hold firm, even when the Dalek tries to fire again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“D’you really think I’m daft enough to stand here without shields?” the Doctor asks, smug.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master steps out behind her and carefully slips the TCE into her pocket. She had figured that, in case the shielding failed, it was better to let him keep the weapon until she needed it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HIDE BEHIND YOUR SHIELD, DOCTOR, YOU AND YOUR HUMAN FRIEND,” the Dalek mocks. “YOU HAVE FAILED.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Human? I’m a little offended,” the Master mutters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Dalek doesn’t seem to hear. “SIGNAL ACTIVATION IN NINE RELS. THE FLEET SHALL BE SUMMONED!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, it won’t.” The Doctor steps forward, to the very edge of the protective bubble. “Now, if my companions were here, I’d give you a final, final, </span>
  <em>
    <span>final</span>
  </em>
  <span> warning, because I really do try to be nice. But they aren’t, and I don’t think you would listen even if I did. So instead, I’m just going to tell you this: when I’m through with you, you’re going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>wish</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’d done something so merciful as just killing you. Are we clear?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“DALEKS CANNOT BE KILLED!” the creature argues.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, she’d been hoping it would say that. The irony of those final words is just </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonderful</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Carefully, the Doctor pulls out the TCE from her pocket and steps out, just barely, from the TARDIS’ shields; the only downside to plasma shielding is that it’s impervious both ways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, with very little ceremony, the Doctor shoots the Dalek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s a flash of light, the clatter of metal on stone flooring, and the closest thing to a scream that a Dalek can make. Then, as the light fades, the Doctor can see exactly what it looks like when only part of a Dalek’s shell is forcibly shrunk. It’s not pretty. The eyestalk is swivelling wildly around, segments of the lower section are scattered across the floor, and the gun and claw attachment lay on the ground several inches away from the rest of it. Crushed beneath the ‘head’ of the shell is the Dalek itself, a few slimy tendrils desperately grabbing at the gun to no avail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d say I almost feel bad for it,” the Master remarks, “but I don’t. Can I tear it to tiny little pieces before we throw it into a sun or a black hole or- ooh, we could drop by Skaro and put it in the sewers, that was a fun trip!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch it,” the Doctor orders. “I’m going to get something to put it in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master heaves a put-upon sigh. “Fine. You’re no fun, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That doesn’t dignify a proper response. The Doctor turns and heads back into the TARDIS.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Helpfully, the TARDIS moved one of the many storage rooms closer, but it still takes her a few minutes to find something suitable. A Dalek in its most vulnerable form is still a Dalek, and if it managed to get out there's no telling what kind of destruction it could cause. In the end, she pulls an airtight hyper-plastic bin out from beneath a pair of skis and some tennis rackets, and decides it’ll do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the Doctor steps back out into the ruined room of GCHQ, she can tell that something is off. First, the Master is outside of shielding, which she specifically told him not to do. Second, while the Dalek’s shell is where she left it, the Dalek itself is missing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or, no, not missing - it’s moved. The Master’s shoe is firmly planted on top of it, squishing it down with utter disregard for any sort of comfort of the Dalek - not that the Doctor blames him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know, you told me not to mess with it,” the Master says, sounding utterly unapologetic. “But I just couldn’t help myself. It seemed convinced that if it could lure me out of the shields it would be able to take me hostage.” He grins. “It really did think I was just one of your human pets. I proved it wrong."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he were one of her humans, she would scold him for doing something so stupid. As it is, the thought of a Dalek trying to take the Master hostage is an amusing one. The psychic override necessary to pilot around someone else’s body is difficult to pull off on any Gallifreyan, let alone a Time Lord with a natural talent for telepathy. The Dalek wouldn’t have known what hit it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, stop flattening it and help me get it into the box,” the Doctor sighs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sets the open bin down on the floor, and the Master quickly kicks the Dalek into it. The awful thing protests the whole time, but it’s hard to feel properly threatened by a squid that can’t get out of a box, and harder still to feel bad about it. If anything, they’re being generous by not just killing it outright.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, where were you thinking we could put it?” the Doctor asks. “You mentioned the sewers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s almost funny how quickly the Dalek reacts to that, squishing itself as far into the corner furthest from the Doctor as it can. If the Doctor had an ounce of sympathy for it, she would feel bad. Instead, she’s coasting on the adrenaline rush of a risky plan gone perfectly right and the embers of revenge warming her hearts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did,” the Master agrees. “But I thought about it while you were busy, and that feels a little too impersonal. What do you think sticking it in a blender would do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would make a mess,” the Doctor says. She highly doubts the TARDIS would let that happen inside of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master nods. “Might be interesting, though. How long is the box going to hold it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s hyper-plastic, so unless Daleks spontaneously evolved the ability to break something harder than steel without me noticing, it’ll hold for a good few centuries. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I was just thinking that Georg could use a new toy.” The Master grins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor raises her eyebrows. “Before or after you try to blend it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why not both?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A rather insistent knocking at the door stops their conversation. After a moment, a voice bellows, “This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce! Unlock this door and allow us to enter! If you are not native to Earth, remain where you are!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, as big a fan as I am of not having to deal with an entire Dalek armada… I do wish we’d come just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> bit too late,” the Master says. “The UNIT goons always make such funny faces when they die.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor shifts to hold the box in one hand and hits him in the arm. He pouts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should leave before they break the door down.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reluctantly, the Master follows her back into the TARDIS. Just as they take off, there’s the sound of something heavy being rammed against a metal door repeatedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they’re floating in the Vortex, the Doctor finally relaxes. It feels strangely anticlimactic, for this confrontation to end so smoothly. She had - expected? Hoped for, even? - more of a fight from the Dalek. She’s hardly about to complain that it was too easy, but she can’t shake the feeling that it’s not over yet. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking; maybe she just wants to feel more justified in torturing the Dalek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knows that’s what it is, no matter how easy it is to banter about it with the Master. Torturing a living, breathing creature for the crime of threatening the planet she’s grown attached to, for the crimes of its kin, for the Time War and every other wrong any Dalek has ever done to her. She knows she should feel worse about it than she does, but the Daleks have always been an exception to her morals. They’ve always been her excuse to be cruel and not feel guilty about not feeling guilty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor brushes those thoughts away and turns to face the Master.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I promised my fam I’d explain where we went,” she says. “So we should put that thing somewhere they won’t find it and head back to Earth. We can find a more permanent place for it later.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yes, we must bend to the whims of your humans.” The Master’s sarcastic as he says it, but there’s no venom in his tone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor decides to ignore the comment. “So, Georg’s room or somewhere else?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A consistent update schedule? Who Is She.<br/>Anyways, here's the final chapter, which is mostly tying up old loose ends and bringing in some new, different loose ends to play with! Again, expect a bit of a break between this and the next part of the series - I'm not quite sure I know where I want to go with this yet, so...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been a very, very long time since the Doctor’s been on the receiving end of an angry companion's lecture. Somehow, it's even worse with four of them and another human sitting awkwardly on the couch. Desperately, the Doctor wishes she could get back into the TARDIS to join the Master, but with Yaz not-so-subtly standing in between her and the ship, there's no hope of escape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where were you?" Grace asks. There's a very parental undertone to the question that the Doctor can’t help but resent.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I told you. I was busy." The Doctor tries not to sound defensive, but she knows she's failing. "I needed to take care of the squid Lynne and Mitch found in the sewers, and I did. And-" she reaches into her pocket and pulls out Yaz's mobile, "-I brought this back. See, nothing to worry about!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The short version of events, obviously, but also the version that won’t require her to explain Daleks, or why she did what she did. The version that should, hopefully, let her leave as soon as possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yaz takes the phone, but still doesn't look convinced. "You left without explaining why, you come back looking all rough, and you expect us to think you're okay? What happened to you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Yaz," the Doctor says. "Just didn't want to bother you. It's New Year's, you should be celebrating. Don't need me or the Master or the weird squid in the way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something in Yaz's eyes when she looks at her is deeply, achingly sad. It makes the Doctor's skin itch the same way unexpected touch does, and she wants to </span>
  <em>
    <span>leave,</span>
  </em>
  <span> get out before this can become too much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sorry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>who?</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Aaron asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor had almost forgotten him. Ryan's father hadn't said much and hadn’t made a wonderful first impression - the combination made her eager to dismiss him. He has yet to do anything to change that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He travels with her,” Grace explains. “Like we do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ryan makes a face and mutters, “Except he’s insane.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aaron nods, like he doesn’t really understand but doesn’t want to ask for clarification. That, at least, endears him to the Doctor. The fewer questions she has to answer, the better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, Grace breaks the silence. "You can stay and have dinner with us. Both of you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He won't want to," the Doctor says quickly. "He thinks human celebrations are stupid."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can trust him alone in the TARDIS for a few hours, can't you?" Graham asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She can, of course she can. She trusts him more than anyone, and she trusts the TARDIS to keep him in line. And yet… the thought of trying to play human with the Dalek still weighing on her mind is an awful one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ever since she regenerated, she’s been oh-so-careful to keep her companions in the dark about anything too dangerous. It’s safer for both parties; they don’t ever have to risk dying, not really, and she doesn’t have to risk a pair of broken hearts again. Right now, fighting the urge to run like it’s a physical thing and slowly losing, the Doctor isn’t sure she can keep that up. If she said something too cruel or too much for them to handle just to get herself away from them for a moment, she isn’t sure she’d forgive herself. So instead, she takes the cowardly way out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, not sure I can," the Doctor lies. "Who knows what he might get up to? Might blow something up, might try to hack some government site, might reorganize the wardrobe. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> would be a mess. There's all sorts of stuff in there, some of it's almost as old as I am, and-" she stops herself, manages a smile, and says, "Anyways. Enjoy your dinner and your new year."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pushing past Yaz without actually touching her, the Doctor heads for the TARDIS. The glow of the crystals have dimmed slightly, edging towards blue. The room is empty; the Master is probably still with Georg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I promise, I’ll go find him. Just need a moment,” the Doctor says quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sinks to the floor, leaning her back against the console. Just a moment to catch her breath, to gather her thoughts, and then she’ll be fine. Just a moment of peace after the adrenaline has run its course through her veins, leaving her hands trembling slightly before she clenches them into fists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mind wanders, as it often does, to the eternal dilemma of whether or not she did the right thing. It's safer for her to keep her humans at arm's length, she knows that for sure. But the life she leads has never been </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Is it fair to keep them unaware, to hide the darker parts of what traveling with her can mean?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it isn't. Maybe she should just go back, explain everything, tell them about her past companions and make them understand the real risk they're taking every time they step foot into the TARDIS. It would be the right thing to do, the Doctor's certain of it. She's also certain that telling them everything would make them leave, and the Doctor is far too selfish to let that happen. That doesn't stop her from hating herself for it, though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Doctor’s not quite sure when she goes from staring blankly into the console room to zoning out entirely, but she jolts out of it when she hears footsteps on the stairs. In her rush to sit up, she nearly hits her head into the edge of the console.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was wondering where you were,” the Master says, offering his hand to help her up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor takes it, lets him pull her upright, and then shifts her grip so their fingers interlace.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, had to talk to my companions, and then I just sat down and sort of…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t finish the half-sentence, instead waving her free hand vaguely, but she doesn’t really need to. He knows those sorts of moods as well as she does. As much as she had been the distractible one when they were boys, Koschei had spent as much - if not more - time staring into space as Theta had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Georg is liking his new toy." The Master grins. "Good thing that box is soundproof, though, pretty sure the Dalek was screaming the whole time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor's reply is cut off by a sudden noise from the console; a cheery beep just high pitched enough to grate at her ears like sandpaper. An ‘Incoming Message’ notification appears on one of the monitors. After the piercing tone cuts off, the message opens itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elegant interlocking circles fill the screen. High Gallifreyan is a very pretty, if </span>
  <em>
    <span>extremely</span>
  </em>
  <span> pretentious, language, and the Doctor can’t help but appreciate the precision of the writing as she reads.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s new,” she notes. “Don’t think I’ve seen that one before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wouldn’t have. Yours are normally either summons for trial or because a certain rogue Lord President forgot another important occasion,” the Master says pointedly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Glaring, the Doctor retorts, “Like yours are much different.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He presses his hand to his chest in mock offense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Mine,</span>
  </em>
  <span> when they still deigned to grace me with direct correspondence instead of just sending someone to try to kidnap me as needed, were mostly begging their favorite convenient psychopath to come help them with some new conquest or what have you.” He manages to keep a light tone throughout the entirety of his response, despite the annoyance the Doctor can feel tickling at the back of her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Still. I wonder what they want </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> for, not the Lord President.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master grins. “Guess we’ll have to go find out, won’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not now," the Doctor says. "Soon, sure, but… not now."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She's so tired. The guilt about lying to her friends, about what she's doing to the Dalek, is tangling itself around her mind and she can't handle Gallifrey on top of that. Gallifrey is always terrible, no matter why they want her there, no matter how sickeningly respectful they are or how much they play at caring about her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master's eyes soften, and he runs his thumb gently over her hand. "Why don't you get some rest, love?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Join me?" she offers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He may be steadier on his feet than she is, but she can tell the encounter with the Dalek had done a number on him. The fear she had felt from him when she had stepped out of TARDIS unarmed to test the shields had been nearly as strong as her own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Of course."</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A child stands alone. They don't know where they are, how long they've been there, how many times they've been remade in golden fire and </span>
  <em>
    <span>burningfreezingtearingapartattheseamspain</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>painpain</em>
  </b>
  <span>, where their family is - do they even have a family? They don't remember. All they know is that they're so, so hungry and so, so lonely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There are hundreds of children, or one child with hundreds of bodies, or hundreds of bodies and minds and the only constant is the robes they wear and the name they've long since forgotten and the tears that fill their eyes. Either way, the days turn to weeks turn to months turn to years of waiting for someone, anyone, any</span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span> to come and find them. The golden light of rebirth flashes a periodic beacon for anyone who might be looking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, someone notices, someone comes to-</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Doctor wakes with a jolt. She's in her room, lying in bed with the Master next to her, and her hearts are racing for a reason she can't explain. She remembers-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Light, burning, hungerhungerhunger, where is everyone why did they leave why did they leave </span>
  <em>
    <span>her?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Waiting and waiting and waiting and-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master makes a sleepy noise and opens his eyes. "Are you alright?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Huh?" It takes her a moment to really hear the question, then she manages, "Oh, fine. Weird dream, that's all."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well then stop projecting it and let me sleep," he grumbles. "You were thinking </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> loud."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sorry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor settles back down, but she can't sleep again. That dream felt too familiar for something she knows she's never seen before. Even as the details fade from her mind, she can't shake the impression it left on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I can still hear you thinking," the Master says. "Stop it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor sighs, but puts the dream from her mind. She can worry about it later, after whatever Gallifrey needs her for is taken care of. If she even needs to worry about it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wraps her arm around the Master and snuggles closer, forcing herself to slow her breathing and try to sleep. The dream is probably nothing.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For those of you who were hoping for actual communication with the fam - I tried to write it, I really did, but the Doctor just refused. Trust me, I'm just as frustrated as you are at her for this.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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